Continuing the discussion from What does ‘the Good Shepherd’ mean?:
I appreciated how @lakshmi acknowledged how the imagery of everyday life, as they took on meaning within Israelite culture, also became a source of inspiration for understanding their lives with God.
If we were Bible translators attempting to communicate this imagery to a people group that has never experienced deserts, sheep, shepherds, and so on, we might decide to use similar metaphors within their culture to translate these passages. We might talk about forests, pigs, and the chief with the most pigs. I don’t know - a real Bible translator can correct me!
In any case, I’m grateful that in English, we have an abundance of painstakingly accurate translations that preserve, as much as possible, the original words of the text.
As I think about Jesus using ordinary imagery in his teaching - travelers on a road, the vine and branches, a farmer sowing seeds - it was a very effective method.
That brings me to my question - what would it look like for us to tell parables of our own cultures?